PhD Students and Candidates

Szu-Wei Chen

Szu-Wei Chen is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU. Szu-Wei is from Taiwan and received her B.S. and M.S degree in Occupational Therapy from National Taiwan University. Before beginning her studies at NYU, Szu-Wei worked as an occupational therapist for governmental projects contracted with Taiwan Occupational Therapy Association, including Service of Job Accommodation for People with Disabilities and Service of Long-term Home Health Care. She also gained clinical experiences while working in Center of Assistive Technology in National Taiwan University Hospital. Szu-Wei is interested in studying diverse participation issues among people with disabilities and older adults as well as evaluating program outcomes. In addition, she is interested in exploring education related topics to improve competences of clinical practitioners and OT students.

Yu-Lun Chen

Yu-Lun Chen is a PhD student in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU. Yu-Lun earned her M.S. and B.S. degrees in Occupational Therapy from National Taiwan University. Her clinical experience included home-based intervention for children and families with neurological and developmental disorders. Yu-Lun’s research interest focuses on participation of children and adolescents with disabilities in schools, home activities and communities. Her goals are to identify the determinants of participation outcomes, to improve current services and interventions, and to strengthen the connection between research and clinical practice.

Chang Dae Lee

Chang Dae Lee is a PhD student in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU Steinhardt. Chang Dae is from South Korea and received his BS and MS in Occupational Therapy from Yonsei University. Before studying at NYU Chang Dae was a part-time occupational therapist working with adults with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. His research interests include interventions that improve quality of life and decrease death anxiety of the elderly, and cognitive rehabilitation in the elderly.

Ellen Modlin

Ellen Modlin is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU. Ellen graduated from NYU’s entry level OT program in 1995 with a specialty affiliation in pediatrics. Ellen worked in the NYC public schools, Early Intervention, and the Nassau County school district. Currently she serves on the school district's assistive tech committee for the development of screenings and interventions with technology to support students in the classroom. Ellen’s area of interest is using assistive tech to assist students with visual-perceptual deficits.

Yun Shi

Yun Shi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU Steinhardt. Yun Shi is from China; she received her B.S. degree in Occupational Therapy from Capital Medical University in Beijing and M.A. degree in Occupational Therapy from New York University. Before studying for the M.A. degree at NYU, Yun Shi worked as a rehabilitation therapist at Tongren Hospital in Beijing. Her research interest is in outcome measures and physical dysfunction.

Brocha Stern

Brocha Stern is a PhD candidate in the Department of Occupational Therapy at NYU Steinhardt. She graduated with her Master of Occupational Therapy from Temple University and earned a BA in Psychology from Touro College. She is a certified hand therapist and clinician at Kessler Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey. She is also adjunct faculty at New York University and Salus University and a member of the Education Division of the American Society of Hand Therapists. Brocha’s primary area of interest is health behavior and health promotion in the context of musculoskeletal conditions. In addition, she is interested in the application of neurorehabilitation principles to the management of orthopedics.